Confusion
by uncommonalistic
Summary: AU. Ayumi Shinozaki is the new girl who quickly gains popularity. She finds herself surrounded by friends and a golden image. As more and more people begin to befriend her, she finds herself distracted by a delinquent named Yoshiki Kishinuma, who seems to always be in her way. Can Ayumi really make it through her year as the new kid? Or will Yoshiki drag her down?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 1

Ayumi Shinozaki was walking through the lengthy halls of her new high school. She had felt that her old school had a bit of a bad name and she wanted a her college applications to look good. This was her junior year and she needed to get down to business. She thought staying with those rowdy kids would just bring her down. So she decided to make the transfer to a bit more of a distinguished school. The tuition had cost a bit more, but it was nothing that her parents couldn't handle.

"Class 3-1... Class 3-1... Ah! Here it is!" she exclaimed, relieved. She had been worried that she would make a fool of herself by walking into the wrong classroom. Ayumi had not been popular at her old school. She was considered to be a huge nerd because she enjoyed her studies and was also a bit socially awkward.

She knocked lightly on the door to her homeroom and waited for a response. She wondered if she was the only new student. It was the start of the new school year, so she doubted she was the only newbie, so to speak. But most of these kids had probably known each other forever, seeing as this was an escalator school and the middle school and elementary school were on the same campus as this one. Many of the kids had already picked their friends and social statuses. Could she really fit in?

Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop when the door in front of her opened. A woman was smiling down at her. "Hello, I'm Ms. Yui, your homeroom teacher. You must be the new student."

"Um, yes. Hi. My name is Ayumi Shinozaki. Sorry that I'm late, I got a little bit lost on the way here."

"Not to worry! You haven't missed a thing. Your seat is over there, by Miss Sasaki," Ms. Yui said. She pointed to an empty desk by a girl with very curly hair that was up in a high ponytail. The girl was also wearing the school's blue and yellow cheerleader uniform.

Ayumi walked over to her desk and dropped her things by her seat. She sat down quietly, so as not to disturb the bustling class. It appeared that she was wrong in her judgement of not being the only new student. It seemed that nearly everybody was in a group, talking. And as she looked closer, she noticed she could identify which cliques the students were in. The girl next to her, Sasaki, was surrounded by plenty if girls wearing identical uniforms. The cheerleaders. A bunch of guys wearing letterman jackets were talking about some sports event that had been on TV. The jocks. The nerds were conversing over the student handbook. The delinquents were smirking evilly and looking hungrily around the room, searching for their next victim. And then the normal kids were going about their their normal kid business.

"Hey! You're Ayumi, right?" Ayumi turned her head to the Sasaki girl, who had just spoken to her.

Surprised, Ayumi replied with, "Um... yes..."

"I'm Misaki! It's nice to meet you! We were just talking and we wanted to know if you'd like to sit with us at the opening ceremony," she said happily.

"Um... I'd be glad to," Ayumi replied skeptically. She had always been told that the populars were mean and selfish. But here was this girl, head of the cheer squad, asking a complete stranger to sit with her and her friends at the opening ceremony. Should she get her hopes up? Were these girls really that nice?

"Great! Let me introduce you to the team!" Misaki said excitedly. "This is Seiko Shinohara. She is like the funniest person I've ever met. She's also the best person I know at back handsprings," she said, pointing to a girl with brown hair that reminded Ayumi of cinnamon rolls.

"Nice to meet ya Ayumi!" Seiko said cheerfully with a wink. Ayumi smiled warmly in return.

"This is Naomi Nakashima. And that's Mayu Suzumoto. She's Kisa Kurakono. That's Hisae Kamigomo. This is Mei Shouji. And finally we have our foreign exchange student, Claire Francis. She's French," Misaki introduced everybody quickly.

"It's nice to meet all of you!" Ayumi said, loosening up a little.

"So Ayumi, we have a proposition for you." Ayumi's look turned from happy to confused at Misaki's statement. "You see, there's only nine of us. To compete and form a full pyramid, there has to be ten. This isn't really a problem right now, seeing as all we have to worry about are the upcoming football games but competition season starts after basketball season and we always like to be prepared. You seem like you'd be a wonderful topper to the pyramid. Would you like to come to the tryouts after school today?" Misaki asked kindly.

Ayumi was confused. These girls were supposed to be mean to her for being the new kid. They were supposed to sabotage her love life They were supposed to shatter her reputation. But instead, they were warmly and personally welcoming her to cheer tryouts. This couldn't be right. In all the movies and books, the first day of school was always the worst for new kids. People made fun of you and you ate lunch in a bathroom stall. You weren't supposed to befriend the populars. Something had to be behind this. There had to be some ulterior motive or some catch.

And yet, as she looked at their faces, she saw nothing but kindness. She decided for now that she would trust these girls. She felt safe. She felt like she was about to finally have a life outside of school. She pictured football games and sleepovers and parties and cheer competitions and laughter and friends and maybe even boyfriends, if she was lucky. And she might be at the top of the pyramid! For once, she was thankful for her short and light stature.

And so she smiled and said, "I'd love to try out. You'll see me there."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I decided to post this right now because I am leaving for camp tomorrow and I'll be gone for about a week. So here you go!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 2

As the opening ceremony went on, all Ayumi could think about was her ticket to popularity. She was currently sitting with Misaki and the girls and they all seemed to be paying close attention to what the principal had to say. Ayumi had been told that cheerleaders were ditzy and dumb because they thought it made them attractive. But these girls seemed to be very smart. They gave off the aura of slight professionalism. Misaki had even mentioned something about Mei being the class representative last year while they were on there way to the auditorium.

She heard the closing remarks being said and then they were all dismissed back to their homerooms. Ayumi stood up and followed her class down the hallway. In the rush of people departing from the auditorium, she had lost sight of her friends and now walking alone quietly. She was thinking about speeding up to find them when she fell to the ground.

Looking up, she saw some boys surrounding her, appearing to have tripped her. "Well, if it isn't the newbie. Welcome to Kisaragi Academy, bitch," one of the boys said, spitting.

"What were you doing talking to the cheerleaders this morning? You don't fit in with them. You shouldn't even try," another one sneered. Ayumi quickly realized these were the delinquents she had seen earlier in her class this morning.

"Guys, give her some air," she heard someone say. He pushed through the crowd and she looked up hopefully, thinking it was a nice guy who would help her back to her class. She was disappointed to find that it was just another bad-boy with bleached blond hair. "Well hey there. It's good to have some fresh meat once in a while," he said with a smirk. Ayumi stayed quiet, not wanting to answer to whatever this creep had to say. "Come on, say something." He kicked her, hard, as if to provoke her. Ayumi winced in pain. He laughed at this reaction and kicked her again.

"Hey Yoshiki, don't kill her," some guy from the back said.

Yoshiki turned to his peers. "Why not? It's not like any body would miss her. None of us even know her nam-" He was interrupted by a sharp pain in his leg and a falling sensation. Before he knew it, he was on the ground. He looked up to see Ayumi brushing her hands off on her skirt.

"The name's Ayumi Shinozaki," she said with a smirk. "Don't forget it." And then she was gone.

Yoshiki smirked. "Ayumi. Huh..." he muttered to himself.

"What'd you say?" a boy asked.

"Oh, nothing..."

"Where were you Ayumi?" Kisa asked when Ayumi arrived back to the classroom.

"Oh... I, um, got left behind and then I kinda got lost. Nothing to worry about," she replied. There was no way that she'd tell these girls that she had taken the head delinquent down with a simple kick in the leg. They wouldn't believe her or they would think that she would hurt them or something crazy like that.

Ayumi was actually quite proud of what had just happened. She found it funny that the tough guy could be put down easily. She was just happy that those weird guys wouldn't bother her anymore.

She sat down join in her seat as Ms. Yui entered the rooom, holding everybody's schedules. As Ayumi's was laid down on her desk, she picked it up and examined it carefully. It read:

Per. 1- Honors Chemistry

Per. 2- French 3 Honors

Per. 3- English 11 Honors

Lunch A

Per. 4 - Trigonometry Honors

Per. 5- World History & Government Honors

Per. 6- 3D, 2D, & Painting Advanced (Art)

Per. 7- P.E./Health

Ayumi felt content with her schedule and she had all the classes needed to apply for the colleges she liked. She was also very excited for her Art classes this year. Art had always been her favorite subject and she couldn't wait to begin drawing and painting again.

"Hey, what does your schedule look like?" Misaki asked. They quickly traded schedules and Ayumi was surprised to find that Misaki was terribly intelligent. She was ahead of Ayumi in both History and Math. She was doing Choir for her extra class and it seemed they would have four classes together, plus lunch. She smiled and handed Misaki her paper back.

"Woah, you're really smart," Ayumi said as they each got their own schedules back.

"Thanks, you too! We have to keep top grades to be on the cheer team and I take my studies very seriously. It seems that you do too!" she said cheerfully.

"Alright class, before you all head to your first periods, we will be electing the class rep for this homeroom," Ms. Yui said, clapping to get everybody's attention.

Murmurs floated around Ayumi. "Who do you think it'll be?"

"Think Mei will get it again?"

"I'm gonna vote for whoever Misaki votes for!"

"Maybe Satoshi will?"

Before anybody could start a vote, Misaki stood up from her chair and said loudly, "I vote Ayumi Shinozaki as class representative of Class 3-1."The murmurs stopped and all eyes traveled to Ayumi, who's face was red with embarrassment.

"I second!" Seiko shouted, standing up as well.

"Well, congratulations Ayumi, you're a candidate," Ms. Yui said with a smile. Ayumi grew flustered.

"But wait-" she began.

"Are there any other nominees?" Ms. Yui asked the class, cutting Ayumi off.

Silence.

"Nobody? Are you sure?"

...

"Alrighty then. Ayumi Shinozaki is now the new representative of this class," Ms. Yui finished.

Claps were heard and Misaki and Seiko high-fived. Ayumi was in a sort of daze. Why had nobody said anything? Surely there was someone else who had wanted the position. Ayumi would have been perfectly fine with a simple debate to see who should be the class rep but what really weirded her out was that nobody had said that they wanted this chance. It was then that she realized that it was because the populars had nominated her. They had been on her side and so nobody wanted to argue. She quickly noticed just how much power these people had.

The bell rang out and Ayumi left for her first class of the day.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Because I can't sleep, I decided to post this.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All right belong to there respectable owners.**

Chapter 3

Ayumi tiredly made her way to the cafeteria. She had only been to three classes, and yet, she was already dying. she felt as if she was unprepared for everything and that she was completely disorganized. She wanted to breakdown and cry, but she held it in as she walked towards the kitchen area.

She stepped into the lunch line. She had expected there to be a bunch of old ladies serving gross cafeteria food, like at her old school. Instead, there were buffet-like lines and no adults in sight. She heard some noises coming from the back of the kitchen, so she suspected that everybody worked over there, so as not to disturb the hungry students.

The food was extravagant. There were salads and steaks and freshly squeezed juices and and mashed potatoes and fancy sandwiches and hors d'oeuvers and sushi and desserts of all kinds. She overwhelmed with thoughts of just how much money this would cost her lunch account.

As she carefully made her way through the line, she took in the scent of the freshly baked rolls and the sautéed vegetables. She smiled warmly and her stomach growled. She decided to get some ice coffee to drink after realizing how tired she was. She also picked up a grilled BLT, a little salad, and two strawberry macaroons. It was nothing too crazy, but it seemed healthy enough and it would fill her up. Her total ended up being quite pricey, but it seemed that her parents had put quite a bit of money into her account, so she was well covered.

Ayumi began to question just what kind of people went to this school. It was hard to pay that much money everyday for lunch so she figured that most of these people were pretty well-off. Ayumi then had to question her own social standing and realized slowly just how much her parents made and just how big her house was and just how many gala events she had been to with her mother and just how many frivolous things she owned. It surprised her to no end and for some reason she felt guilty.

It was then that she realized she was facing the infamous problem of "where do i sit for lunch on my first day". She glanced around at the tables and noticed that the nerds were all reading. She saw Yoshiki and the delinquents and for a split second she made eye contact with him and she felt a her heart jolt. But then he turned away coldly, acting as if nothing ever happened. She sighed in defeat and went back to looking for a table to sit at.

However, she was stopped by a shrill,"Ayumi! Come sit with us! We saved you a seat!" She turned her head to the left to see a table filled with populars, both athletic and not. They were all good-looking and out of her league. And there was only one seat remaining at the table.

She put on her best smile and walked over to the empty seat. It was right next to Misaki and some guy with brown hair and a letterman jacket. She had to admit, he was pretty cute. A lot of the guys at the table were. To keep herself from blushing, she looked at Misaki and spoke to her. "Hi! Thanks for saving me a seat! That was super nice of you."

"No problem! You belong with us. Anyway, what'd you get," Misaki asked as she inspected Ayumi's plate of food. "Nice choices! You've got good taste, my friend."

"Thanks," Ayumi replied, taking a sip of her coffee. The table went back to babbling away and she was content with just quietly eating her food. She was about halfway through her sandwich, when someone asked her a question.

"So Ayumi, what do you think of Kisaragi so far?" Ayumi turned her head and saw Mayu waiting patiently for an answer. Ayumi then noticed how a lot of people had tuned in, awaiting a response.

"Oh, it's great here! I really like it. I _have_ gotten a little bit lost, but it's no big deal. It's also really big compared to my old school. I really do enjoy it," she replied.

"What was your old school like?" a girl a couple seats away asked.

"It was really small and kind of overall town was pretty rundown and awful and the people were even worse. I had to go to school there because it was closest to my district. Which doesn't really make any sense because I kind of live in this really big, grand, expensive neighborhood. But most of the kids in my area are homeschooled. My parents wanted me to be a bit more social and so they sent me to school. All the popular people there were really gross and they all slept with each other. I was kind of an outcast because I was the only one who actually gave a damn about school work. I came here because I wanted my college applications and resume look better. And also because that school really did suck," she finished with a giggle.

"Woah, you live in a fancy neighborhood?! I knew I'd heard of the Shinozakis!" some guy said.

"Yeah, my dad is the owner of the Shinozaki Law Firm," she said.

"So you weren't popular at your old school? That's hard to believe. Has anybody given you a hard time today?" Seiko asked.

"Not really, I just kinda had a quick run in with some guy named Yoshiki but nothing bad happened and I told him to leave me alone. That's about it," Ayumi answered.

"Yoshiki? Yoshiki Kishinuma?!" Naomi asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I guess that's him- Wait, did you just say Kishinuma? As in, Kishinuma Retail & Estate?!" Ayumi asked, eyes wide.

"Yep. He's the one. His dad runs the business and it's supposed to be passed down to him. I heard a rumor though that his family wasn't going to let him take the business over because he doesn't give a shit about anything," some jock said. Murmurs of astonishment and surprise spread around the table.

Then, the guy next to Ayumi said, "Well, if he's mean to you again, come to me. I'll help you." He gazed down at her. Ayumi would;t have been surprised if her eyes had changed into the shape of a heart in that moment.

She awkwardly said," Uh... thank you..."

"Oh! My name's Satoshi by the way! Satoshi Mochida." He nervously stuck out his hand and smiled. The table laughed.

Ayumi smiled after a few seconds and happily shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Satoshi. I'm Ayumi. Wait, you already know that..." she said, embarrassed. The people at the table laughed again.

She giggled a little too. She was happy with her new friends.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I'm back from camp! Missed writing!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 4

Ayumi walked into the large gymnasium after changing into her P.E. outfit. School had ended and the cheer tryouts were about to take place. Ayumi was surprised to see so many girls from her grade sitting on the bleachers, waiting for further instruction. She rushed over to take her seat with everybody.

After waiting for a couple minutes, a tall, brusk woman entered the room, followed by nine young girls. Ayumi realized that they were her friends. She nearly raised her hand up to wave, but then decided against it. It seemed like an unprofessional and overall bad idea.

"All right ladies, I need you all to line up," the tall woman said. All of the girls, including Ayumi scrambled out of the bleachers to line up in the front of the gym. They all formed a straight line and stood quietly. "My name is Coach Matsui," the woman continued. "As you all know, we are looking for one girl and one girl only. These tryouts were originally conducted last year, but since our topper has transferred to another school, we have had to reconsider."

"Our new member must be light and small," Coach Matsui said, eyeing all the girls while pacing in front of them. "She must be quick, agile, and strong. Therefore, I'm afraid that I have to ask a couple of you girls to leave. It was on the flyers. We do not need tall people as of right now." Multiple groans and sighs could be heard around Ayumi. However, she felt confident with her size and thought that she fit the description of the "new member" very well. Misaki had even said that she was well-suited for the job.

Coach Matsui was going down the line and filtering out all of the tall and muscular girls. The girls that were excused picked up their things and left the gym with frowns on their faces. As Coach Matsui passed Ayumi, she gave a simple nod of the head at her height. Ayumi let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

After many of the girls had left, the ones who were still there were taught the cheer routine and were given numbers in order of performance. Then they would go up to a long table, one by one, and, well, cheer. Ayumi checked her number again as she waited. Sixteen. Was sixteen an unlucky number? Would she forget the routine and ruin her chances of ever being on the cheer squad? Before she knew it, she had been called up to perform.

Slightly terrified, she gave her name and did the cheer as given. The entire time all she could do was analyze herself and hope that she was speaking loudly and had a smile on her face. She didn't want to look like she was going to a funeral. That's all that went through her head. Worry, worry, worry.

She sat back down after a tiring audition and was tempted to ask the girls around her how she did, but she decided against it, seeing as none of them were speaking to each other.

After the last person went, they all stood in a line again. Coach Matsui said, "Okay, thank you girls. You all did a very nice job." This was code for: some of you did well, but most of you sucked. "However, we have to make cuts. We'd like to see numbers 3, 8, 16, 27, and 32 do a pyramid with the girls. If your number was not called, please take your things and exit the gym."

Ayumi moved to go get her things when she realized that her number had been called. She quickly stopped moving and walked back to her spot in line, slightly embarrassed for having moved. After the girls had left (which really meant they were standing outside the doors, listening and watching), the remaining girls lined up to prepare for the pyramids.

The first girl that went actually did pretty well, but the look on her face was anything but happy or excited. The girl before Ayumi had actually fallen from the top and landed on the mat. This, in turn, made Ayumi want to leave and just not tryout.

Despite these thoughts, she found herself, moments later, climbing up a very large pyramid made of people. She found herself standing at the top, smiling and shouting the cheer happily with the rest of her friends. They all got down smoothly and she land the flip from the top perfectly. Ayumi smiled at Misaki, who smiled back.

The girl after Ayumi was terribly wobbly and she nearly fell down on multiple occasions. She got so scared that she didn't even finish the cheer. But the last girl, number thirty-two, did wonderfully. She seemed the tiniest bit scared at first, but then she got into it and seemed to be the star of the show, the true topper to a pyramid. Ayumi looked down at her shoes in disappointment.

The dreaded moment came when they all lined up, one last time. "Well," Coach Matsui started, pacing yet again. "You girls all did an amazing job. This was a very hard decision to make." Translation: It's pretty obvious that Girl Number Thirty-Two wins. "But there can only be one winner. So we have decided to induct Ayumi Shinozaki as the 10th and final member of this year's Junior Year Cheer Squad."

Ayumi's head snapped up when she heard her name said and she barely listened to the words after that. She pointed at herself in confusion. "Me?" she asked incredulously. Coach Matsui let out a little laugh and nodded.

"But that's totally unfair! I did better than her!" A shrill voice interrupted the joyful moment. Ayumi turned her head to see Girl Number Thirty-Two fuming with anger. "She just blended in with the rest of them! She wasn't a topper at all!"

"Miss Kantana, Ayumi was in perfect harmony with the rest of the team. You, on the other hand, went out of your way to outshine everybody else in the group. There is no single person who is the star of the squad," Coach Matsui replied calmly.

Kantana left in a huff. The other girls left followed and it seemed that the audience at the doors had dispersed too. Misaki and the other girls ran up to Ayumi excitedly and handed her something. She looked down to find multiple cheerleader uniforms, one for every day of the week, in her hands. Ayumi looked at them as if they were foreign objects. The girls giggled at the surprised and dazed look in her eyes.

"Wear one of them tomorrow. And also put your hair up in a ponytail," Naomi said. Ayumi simply nodded her head, still looking at the clothes, not quite paying attention. The girls laughed again and they all formed a group hug. Ayumi came back to her senses and hugged her friends back.

She was so excited to spend time with her new teammates.

"Yoshiki! Yoshiki, guess what?!"

Yoshiki was sitting a desk, talking to some fellow delinquents. He had been trying to think of a new prank to pull on Ms. Hanayama with the other guys when a boy came barging into the room. The kid was a sophomore and had been trying to get with the group since middle school. Yoshiki found it funny how loyal he was even though he would never get to hang out with them. He smirked and turned to face the kid.

"What? Did you stick gum in a girl's hair? Did you steal a pair of socks from the lockeroom? Did you put typos in the school paper?" The boys behind Yoshiki laughed, remembering the kid's fetal attempts at delinquency. For a second, the boy's eyes flashed with hurt, but it was gone before Yoshiki could truly see.

"No! I brought news!" he said excitedly.

"News? What kind of news?" a guy asked.

"It's about that Ayumi girl."

Yoshiki's face went blank for a second and then he leaned forward, intrigued. "I'm listening..."

The boy smiled at the fact that he had Yoshiki's interest. "She made the cheer team! I just saw it. She landed the flip and everything. Rumiko Kantana got really mad at her because she almost got it but then Ayumi won," he said in a rush.

Yoshiki was quite surprised to hear this, but he hid it. He turned his back to the sophomore. "Fine. Thank you. You're excused. Goodbye."

"But-"

" _Goodbye_."

Yoshiki heard a door shut and he let out a sigh and then looked up at his colleagues. "That girl needs to learn her place."

"What should we do then, Yoshiki?" someone asked. There was a moment of silence. Then Yoshiki spoke up.

"Don't worry. I've got a plan..."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: This will be the last post for yet another week. I am traveling and will not have time to write. Sorry!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 5

Ayumi walked down the halls confidently. It was already a month into the school year and so much had happened. After getting on the cheer team, her status had rose to extreme heights. Now everyone knew who Ayumi Shinozaki was. She had also become the Student Council President and was always extremely busy. She been in a ton of football games since the middle of August and she was very excited that homecoming was this month.

She stopped by her shoe locker on her way in and found yet another secret admirer note. She smiled at the sweet words. She put in her bag and gave herself a mental note to throw it away later. She had noticed how the handwriting differed and varied between the notes and she figured that multiple people had had the same idea. It was a nice gesture, but she already had a boyfriend.

Satoshi had asked her out halfway through August and they were coming up on their one month anniversary. For their first date, they had gone to the movies and when he took her back to her house, he asked her if she would be his girlfriend. She had said yes, and the whole school knew quickly. Many people supported the couple, but Naomi had become colder to Ayumi. She would send her glares and not answer her texts. She didn't want to hang out alone with Ayumi anymore and it made her confused. Why'd she started acting so different? Did she like Satoshi? If she did, then she should have said something! Ayumi would have considered her opinion. Well, maybe...

"Hey Ayumi!" Misaki called once Ayumi had walked into the classroom. Ayumi smiled and waved and sat down by her friends. Seiko walked over to her and began to braid her hair into a side braid. Seiko always made the most simple hairdos look beautiful and she had extreme skills. She wanted to be a hairdresser and Ayumi supported this idea 100%. She had texted Seiko the night before and asked her if she would be willing to do Ayumi's hair the next day. Seiko had said that it was fine.

"So how are things going with Satoshi?" Mayu asked. Naomi frowned and payed more attention to her phone than the conversation. Ayumi scowled looking at her. What was her problem? She new she was upset, but couldn't Naomi just be happy for her for once? This whole thing was getting old. Naomi was very pretty. She could easily find some other guy. She just needed to get over it.

"Um, Ayumi...?" Mayu spoke up.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I wasn't _paying attention_ ," Ayumi said loudly, shooting a glare at Naomi, who shot one back. She cleared her throat. "Things with Satoshi are going really well. We're going to a fancy restaurant and then to see a _film noir_ at a drive-in for our one month anniversary date. It's going to be great!" she said, starting to get excited.

Naomi snorted. "Guys don't like old movies. They're such girly things."

"How would you know?" Ayumi snapped back.

"Because I actually have common sense."

"Oh yeah? Well at least I have enough common sense to not throw myself upon a boy who's dating one of my friends!" This made people gasp. Naomi blushed.

"Well at least I have enough common sense to have a nice relationship. You're such a prude that the two of you haven't even held hands!" Naomi shouted.

"Well at least I've got class. You would let someone go to third base on the first date!" Ayumi yelled back.

Naomi opened her mouth to shout back, but then closed it and smirked evilly. "Well at least I have tits," she said, loud enough for the whole class to hear. Some gasped and a few giggled.

Ayumi's face turned bright red. She furrowed her brows and picked up the thing closest to her, Seiko's comb, and threw it at Naomi. It hit her right in between the eyes and she gasped as the comb fell off her face and onto the floor. She held her hand to her head and stared at Ayumi in disbelief.

"Fuck you," Ayumi said and left the room.

After checking that the bathroom was empty, Ayumi locked herself in a stall and began to cry. It wasn't just any cry either. It was ugly sobbing, with puffy red eyes and a runny nose. She hated when she cried like this and she tried to stop but found that she couldn't. She heard the bell for the end of first period go off and she realized she had been in the bathroom for nearly an hour. She wiped her eyes and waited for the swelling to go down.

She unlocked the door and looked in the mirror, happy to see that it didn't look as if she had cried. She sighed in relief and began to wash her hands, out of habit. She looked up at the mirror again and glanced at her chest. She had always had problems with insecurity, but most of it was about her chest size. And when people poked fun at her about it, it always made her cry. No matter how hard she tried to hold it in, she always ended up crying ugly, painful tears. She turned away from the mirror, angry with herself for being this way.

As she walked into second period, she noticed that everyone was looking at her with a strange expression. It was then that she realized she was late. She turned to her teacher. "I'm so sorry! I was just busy and I-"

"Ayumi Shinozaki you are wanted in the principal's office. Ayumi Shinozaki, report to the principal's office immediately," the intercom buzzed. Ayumi sighed in defeat and left the room.

After spending countless hours in the office and talking to the school counselor about her "feelings" and her argument with Naomi, Ayumi walked into her seventh period that was already halfway over. She just sat on the bleachers of her gym class and ignored the whispers around her. she tried to read for an English assignment but all that she could think about was leaving and going home.

As the final bell rang, signaling they could leave, she sighed in relief. She stopped by her locker and found another note. She was surprised to see that it wasn't another love note. Instead it read:

 _Dear Ayumi,_

 _Meet me on the roof at 2:45. We need to talk._

 _Satoshi_

Ayumi's stomach fell and her heart let into her throat. She checked her watch. 2:39. She fearfully made her way to the rooftop, feeling like she knew what was coming. She felt sick and scared.

Did he want to break up?

Yoshiki looked at the girl across from him. "So you understand all of that?" he asked.

Rumiko nodded. "Yeah, but am I gonna get paid or something?"

"What? No, you don't get paid," Yoshiki said.

"Then what's in it for me?"

He sighed. "Fine, you'll be paid."

She smiled happily and said, "Thank you! So, when are we starting this plan anyway? I mean you came up with this a while ago and I think you could've started it without me."

"No, we can't start yet," Yoshiki said, saying it to her like she was stupid.

"What? Why?" Rumiko asked.

"She's got too much power right now. We need to get her when she's most vulnerable..."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey! (Cue the Hermione quote about Ron showing up after weeks and saying hey).** **I'm super sorry for not posting a new chapter in forever. It's my fault, and I am _amazed_ that there were and are still people reading it. I know that I hate it when people kind of forget or abandon stories and so I decided to bring this back. I'm not going to say that I have an update schedule (because I don't; suspect sporadic updates) and I'm not going to make promises. But, for now, I'm back. I hope you're ****excited!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

 **Side Note: A couple of dark and sad themes are mentioned in this chapter. Please do not find that what these characters are to do is okay. I am not shining a light on these problems. Read with precaution.**

Chapter 6

Ayumi moved the cold seared salmon around on her plate. It was lunch and she was not hungry at all. She hadn't been eating well lately and last night her mother had to force her to have a bowl of soup. She couldn't remember the last time she had voluntarily eaten and now she was just wasting money on food she wasn't going to eat. She sat at the lunch table, alone. For the first few couple of days, Misaki sat with her and would try to make conversation. But, alas, as well as her appetite Ayumi had somehow lost her ability to speak. She answered in simple 5-word sentences and didn't ask or answer questions in class. She went to all of the cheer practices and football games but she would leave immediately after she was done. She only smiled when she had to.

The break up with Satoshi was bad. He spoke of mistakes and misfortunes. Of how he had fallen for someone he didn't love. of how he had found a new love in someone else. Of how he couldn't take her neurotics. she had not cried in front of him, however, she took the next day off of school and she cried then. A lot. And when she got back, there was nobody to compensate for her. She learned through the grapevine that Satoshi was now dating Naomi and alum wanted t cry again but she held herself high and acted as though she was a shield and nothing to break her. When she got home, she cried again and slept. Everything went downhill after that.

Her mother and father, worried about her unsteady emotions, came up to her room. Ayumi had no interest in speaking with _anyone_ at the moment. She wanted to get through this alone and she didn't need help.

Knock, knock, and in came her parents. "...Honey..." her mother said cautiously. "We wanted to talk to you." She took slow steps toward Ayumi, as if afraid that she would make her angry and then she would get hurt.

"We're worried about your behaviors as of late," her father chimed in quietly.

Ayumi sniffled and said wordlessly, "What behaviors?"

"I think you know," her mother said gently.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Get out of my room," Ayumi said, staring a stain in her carpet.

"Ayumi-"

"Out."

"Ayumi Shinozaki! You do not speak to your mother that way!" her father yelled, now angry.

Ayumi, boiling with anger, stood up, her small, thin hands clenched into quivering fists. "Look, I have had the worst week of my life. If you to gave an ounce of attention to me, maybe you would know why I am upset. But since you don't seem to care, you don't get the privilege of knowing. Now get OUT."

Her parents' eyes widened and they left shortly thereafter. Ayumi slammed the door after them and locked it. Then she curled up on her bed and cried.

Her friends had left her after she had asked them to. Some of them had split and followed Naomi and Satoshi. Ayumi felt broken without her friends but she had made a decision. And one that she wasn't going to turn her back on.

She began this plan by excluding everyone from her life. Her parents came first, then her friends, and finally her sister. Hinoe had always been very close with Ayumi and Ayumi had always felt protected by her. So to suddenly be mean to someone you loved very much deep inside was going to be difficult. But she could do it. It was the only way out. It started out plain. alum avoided her sister at all costs. Then it was silence. no words were spoken from her mouth to Hinoe. Finally, to really settle it, Ayumi left a note on Hinoe's desk saying that she found all this "magic" stuff to be stupid and unreal. A waste of time. Hinoe had lost it.

And then it was done. It was time. The final football game had gone by and she wouldn't be missed in the winter. So on a rainy Wednesday afternoon, Ayumi made her way up to the school rooftop.

* * *

" _When_ Yoshiki?"

"As soon as she's ready."

"I'm so tired of waiting!"

"Don't worry. She's coming close."

"Wait! I see her now! She's walking in!"

At these words, Yoshiki quickly made his way over to the window and gazed down at the girl with the blue-black hair. She had a scowl on her face and her eyebrows were deeply furrowed. It looked as if the world had crushed her very last cell. He smirked.

"Today's the day. i'll be on the rooftop."

* * *

Ayumi was crying by the time she reached the railing. The school's rooftop was fenced in but the fences were just the right height to climb over. It would be easy. Everyone was in class. No one would see. They would only find her body, bloody and tattered, on the ground afterwards. They would be stricken with fake grief and she would watch as they lied about how much they knew her, about how she was a such a great person. Please. They didn't even know her favorite color.

She slipped her shoes off and climbed over the fence. And she was there. The last moments of her life. She looked down and realized what a huge fall it was. She gulped. Ayumi took a deep breath in and out, her very last one, and leaned, so close to letting go. But she stopped when she heard a voice to her right.

"Stop!"


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: So I'm super sorry if this is a badly written chapter, but it's way early and I had a super busy week. I hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 7

Ayumi looked over carefully, the wind whipping her hair. There was a boy behind the fence and he was a bit to her right. His face was stricken with worry and Ayumi's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why was this boy so anxious? Couldn't he just let her die in peace? Why, even in her last moments, was she plagued by people? Couldn't she just be _alone_?

And then she recognized him. The guy from the first day of school. Shoot, what was his name? She could have sworn she heard it somewhere. But now she was even more confused. He had been a total jerk to her that day. So why did he care all of a sudden?

He approached her slowly, little by little, baby steps. He held out his hand to her gingerly, as if she had the option to hurt him. She felt herself longing for the hand because this is what she had been craving and wanting and needing. A hand held out to her, offering help and sympathy. As she was about to move towards his hand, her body snapped to attention. She leaned back down, her arms locked, hands holding tightly to the fence. "Don't come near me," Ayumi said, trying to speak above the wind. She could feel him coming closer to her. "Don't come near me!" she shouted as she turned her head around to glare at him. He held his hands up in surrender, as if she was accusing him of something he didn't do. "Now back away," she said sternly and the boy moved back merely an inch. She shook her head and turned it back around to face the ground.

"Why?" a soft voice sounded behind her. She didn't bother to look at him this time.

"Everyone hates me."

"That's not true," he replied.

"How would you know?"

"Well... I don't hate you."

Ayumi's face formed a smirk. "Psh, yeah the guy that tried to attack doesn't hate me. And even if you did like me, that's one person compared to the many that used to be in my life. I've lost all of my friends, my family hates me, and worst of all, my boyfriend never loved me. He said it was a mistake. That _I_ was a mistake. That our entire... entire... _everything_ turned out to be _nothing_." She reached her hand up to her eyes. She was crying.

"Why does he matter so much to you?"

Ayumi sniffled and then said, "Huh?"

"I mean, and pardon me if I'm being rude, but you guys dated for maybe three months tops. And was he all that great? Was he your everything? Or was that just something your mind made up? You should never rely on someone to be happy," the boy answered heatedly.

"I wasn't _relying_ on him, I was _loving_ him. Learn the difference before you accuse me of things I never did." Ayumi rolled her eyes. They were on the verge of an all-out argument.

"Listen, you just need to get down from there. That's all I'm here for. We can stop talking about Satoshi and your friends and your reasons for being on that ledge right now. We'll figure it all out later. Just take my hand." He stretched his arm towards her.

The boy gave her a reassuring smile. Ayumi's eyes widened and she felt her cheeks warm up. He had an amazing smile. His teeth were straight and white and when he smiled, his eyes smiled too. Wait, what was she thinking?! This kid was pure poison! She tried to remember the boy who tried to push her down, the boy who wanted her in pain, the boy who was malicious and cold. But when she tried to see him that way, her mind was flooded with images of his smiling face. She shook her head repeatedly, trying to forget what he looked like. She squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"Ayumi." Her eyes snapped open and she saw him, surprised that he knew her name. His eyes were no longer smiling, they were pleading. "Please."

She decided to give up the fight. She reached out to him and carefully began to step over the fence. But suddenly, a huge crack of thunder rumbled behind her and she jumped. She lost her footing and fell. She let out a scream. She grasped for the fence and stopped falling as she held onto it with one hand. However, the sudden rainfall was severe, and she felt her hand slipping against the wet fence. She desperately tried to pull her other arm up to hold onto the metal fence, but to no avail.

Suddenly, she was grabbed by a pair of strong hands and lifted over the fence. She and the boy fell in a heap, both breathing heavily. "Thank you," Ayumi said, panting, "for everything."

"Your welcome," was his simple reply. Ayumi gave him a smile and then remembered something.

"Wait a second, how did you know my name was Ayumi?"

He let out a laugh, a wonderful, cheerful laugh. Her heart melted. She felt herself blushing all over again and she mentally told herself to stop this nonsense. "Everyone knows your name," he said with a smile. Goddamnit, why did she find his smile so attractive?!

"I don't remember yours," Ayumi mumbled.

"Huh?"

"I don't remember your name," she said louder.

He laughed again. "Yoshiki. Yoshiki Kishinuma."

She smiled, her first real, genuine smile in days. It was a full smile, teeth and all. "I love that name," she said and then she quickly left through the rooftop door so as not to see his reaction.

* * *

Yoshiki couldn't stop thinking about her smile. It was beautiful and like nothing he had seen before. He thought of her blushes, and wondered why she had had them. He thought of her reaction to his name, how she said she loved it and then left abruptly, leaving him stunned to the core. He thought of all these things and pondered them as he walked into the usual classroom.

"So is the plan in action?" Rumiko asked with a smirk, interrupting his thoughts.

"Oh, um, yes." Shit. The plan. The plan would ruin everything. It would ruin her. It would ruin her heart. It would ruin her mind, her trust, her happiness. It would kill her from the inside out. Looking at the events of the day, she'd be dead by the end of it. He didn't want her dead. He didn't want her in pain, crying of sadness, feeling like she wanted to die. And he especially didn't want to be the cause of her grief.

"Perfect. I just _can't_ wait." Rumiko touched his shoulder and whispered in his ear flirtatiously and then left the room.

His heart sunk.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Happy Holidays!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights go to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 8

Ayumi was better. Not great, and not back to how she was, but better. She was now in contact with people again and had apologized and resumed her friendship with all her friends from the past. Word had gotten around the school of her suicide attempt, although she did not know how because she doubted Yoshiki would tell anyone about that. Her family had eventually found out and now Ayumi was going to a therapist every week and she had begun to take antidepressants. Her therapist had said her depression was not only caused by her problems with Satoshi, who felt very bad about the whole ordeal, but also problems with stress and pressure from school, being overlooked, and due to years of helping others and getting nothing back in return. Ayumi was surprised to hear this news because she had never really pictured it that way. Sure, she could be a little helpful here and there, and yeah, maybe she had too many tasks, but she had always done that kind of stuff. She was used to it. Right? Friends and family gave their apologies and Ayumi found the whole thing to be very melodramatic and overdone. She wished nobody would worry about it and that things could just go back to normal.

She was continuing to think these thoughts as she practiced her splits at cheer practice. Competition season was close, and she was excited to be able to have an opportunity to try for a trophy. Her academics had improved and her role as the class rep had actually begun to go somewhere. She was easily well-liked and she had begun to let people back in.

She had not spoken to Yoshiki in weeks. Her last contact with him had been the day he saved her. She had wished to see him again and hoped they could become friends, or at least polite acquaintances but she had only quickly passed him in the halls. It had been about a month; did that mean he didn't want to talk to her? Could she just forget about him. But that smile, that grin, it was burned into her brain. She couldn't extinguish it; she couldn't couldn't forget that way that he looked.

After the end of cheer practice, Ayumi was walking through the halls to find her history teacher. She had a question about the essay they were doing about Japan's influence in World War 1, and her paper of direction had been written in an odd format. When she knocked on the door to the classroom, no one answered. She tried knocking again but nothing happened. This time, she tried the knob and it opened. The classroom was dark and eerie. She walked in and gingerly called out, "...Hello? I have a question about the essay assignment..."

When no reply was given, Ayumi fully walked in and bit her lip, trying her best to be brave. She sniffed the air. Was that cigarette smoke? Something about this room was not right. Something was out of place, something was... _different_.

There was someone here.

She could feel it and only when she took steps, she swore she could hear breathing. She felt around for the light switch, but her hand only touched the cold brick wall. "Hello?" she called out again, this time a little bit louder. She stepped further into the room and squinted her eyes, trying to see around the room. Then she heard it.

A shuffle. From the back of the room. A dark silhouette moved. She saw a lighter flick on. Ayumi screamed and sprinted out of the room.

Her head turned back to see if she was being chased. In her daze, she did not manage to see the person in front of her until she ran into him. An "oof" noise escaped from both of them and Ayumi rubbed her head, which had hit the chest of the person across from her. "Hey, kid, why don't you watch out where you're -" Her sentence stopped short when she looked up and saw none other than Yoshiki himself. He seemed just as stunned as she.

"Um, hi. Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," was his mumbled excuse. He lowered his head a little and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Okay, so maybe this should be going differently. Wasn't he supposed to greet her like a friend? As in a warm, kind handshake? Or a hug? A hug would be nice. Wait, NO. _Dammit Ayumi, think. Speak. Breathe. At least look like less of a zombie._

"No, no, no, it's my fault. I was running and all. You see, I went into the room to ask about the history essay but it was empty but I felt like I was being watched so I kept going in but then I saw or heard something and I came running out and then I ran into you, ha ha literally, and here we are! Hehe..." she finished with an uneasy laugh. She had said the run-on sentence much to fast and Yoshiki was giving her this look as if she were deranged. he felt her face flush, but then, as if a switch had been flipped, she remembered that this was the guy that hadn't spoken to her for a month. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Hey! What's with the silent treatment?! You manage to not only stop a girl's suicide attempt, but also save her from falling, and then you cut off all ties?!"

His expression changed and his eyes grew wide. He looked surprised and slightly exasperated that they were having this conversation right now. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and looked away from her. "We're too different. I'd ruin your reputation and you'd ruin mine."

She nearly screamed. "Well, yeah, maybe we're different, but that doesn't mean we couldn't have been friends?! Like outside of school!"

He let out a snort. "Yeah, we could have some weird secret friendship thing where we only meet in coffee shops and bookstores and then someone finds out and we're exposed. Sounds like the perfect plot to a novel. Too bad that it's probably already been done about a thousand times."

In a normal situation, Ayumi would have giggled at the ideas he spoke, but right now she was raging. "Shut up! Stop being such a lousy ass!"

He snorted again. "Yeah, at least I'm not the prude who comes up with stupid ideas."

By now she wanted to cry. The prude comment hurt, but Ayumi was never one to back down. "Well if I'm so stupid, why are my grades stellar, and your's aren't even good enough for community college?" she sneered.

His head lifted up in astonishment and for a second, his eyes flickered with hurt. But he became angry and began to walk away without another word.

"Wait, Yoshiki, I didn't mean it! Please, wait!" Ayumi called out. "Yoshiki, I'm sorry, that was a horrible thing to say! I'm so sorry!" Nothing. He just kept on walking. Ayumi sucked in a breath.

"Yoshiki, please, I'm sorry and I need your help!" At the word _help_ he stiffened and turned his head back to her. "I, um, really want to know what's in the classroom, but I'm too scared to go in by myself," she continued as she pointed lamely at the door near her. "Will you go in with me?" The whole thing was lies. Ayumi absolutely, positively, did not want to go in that room. However, she did absolutely, positively, want to spend more time with Yoshiki. He walked towards her and she held her excitement in.

He let out a sigh and said, "Let's get this over with." But just as they were about to go in together, a figure emerged from the room.

Rumiko.

Her hair was tussled and her clothes looked raggedy. She looked messy in that cool way, the way Ayumi could pull off. She reeked of smoke and she pulled the cigarette in her mouth out and crushed it on the floor. She let out one final breath of smoke, also in that cool way. Ayumi's throat clenched as she thought about the school's strict no tobacco policy. She also hated smoking because it made you smell bad and it could kill you. She wasn't about to do that to herself. She was, however, about to let Rumiko know the rules when, for some odd reason, she decide to save her breath. It just isn't feel appropriate to talk about here, in this moment.

"Hey babe," Rumiko said to Yoshiki. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, smearing red lipstick (also against school rules) all over him. He grinned at her devilishly and then poked something on her neck. Ayumi realized it was a bruise. A hickey. This was too much to handle at once. Were they... are they...

"Well, we should get going if we want, you know, _time_ in the evening," Rumiko said to Yoshiki with a wink. Ayumi felt like she was going to be sick.

As they walked away, Rumiko turned her head towards Ayumi. "He's mine," she mouthed while pointing at Yoshiki. Ayumi thought she was going to pass out.

And then, they were gone, and Ayumi was left alone with the school's shiny hallways and a limp cigarette.

Suddenly, she felt a boiling in her blood. Her face grew red with anger. Her stomach churned and all she wanted to do was run up to the couple and shove them apart. The worst part was, she recognized this feeling. She had felt it when Satoshi would talk about Naomi or she would talk about him. Only now, it was worse. More strong, more agonizing.

Jealousy.

 _Well, shit._


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi! I have a lot of free time because I'm currently on Winter Break, so I'm posting again! In advance, I'm sorry for the lack of Yoshiki in this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 9

Ayumi mulled over the latest events the next day at school as she ate some of her parfait. She was still confused as to why Yoshiki didn't want to speak to her. She didn't really see the social gap as much of a problem. The only problem she could see was Rumiko. Ayumi had passed by her in the hall today and Rumiko had shoved her, causing her to trip and scatter all of her attendance papers. Misaki had helped her pick them up, but it was relatively embarrassing and awkward.

Speaking of Misaki, Ayumi was very close with her now. They had become best friends and now that cheer competition was upon them, they spent even more time together. Misaki had a boyfriend who attended college and he lived very far away from her. It never seemed to bother Misaki that they didn't see each other much, but lately she hadn't seemed like her normal self.

As they were leaving lunch, Ayumi pulled her aside to speak with her. "Hey, Misaki, I know we have to get to class, but I was just wondering, is everything okay?"

Misaki seemed to snap to attention. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm doing just fine! I've just been stressed, what with finals and all..." Finals. One of the worst things to ever befall upon a student. The tests loomed over them like clouds, seconds away from pouring down torrential rain. Ayumi herself had been so busy with studying and finishing up projects that she didn't have much time to think about Yoshiki and his relationship with Rumiko.

But finals wasn't what was bothering Misaki, or at least it was not not the main thing bothering her. Something in her eyes still seemed anxious and worried. Ayumi decided she would just call her after school. After all, class was about to begin. With a sigh, Ayumi went into her class, still concerned.

* * *

After getting home from school, Ayumi laid down on her bed, picked up her phone, and dialed Misaki's number. She picked up after the third ring.

"Hello?" Misaki's voice crackled through the phone.

"Hi! It's Ayumi!"

"I know. Caller ID," she replied coldly. Ouch. Something was definitely wrong.

"Well, I was just calling to ask you something. Something important," Ayumi said carefully.

"Shoot."

"So, lately you haven't seemed... well. Not in the physical sense, like, you don't seem sick or anything. It's just... well, you seem worried and even uninterested or mad at time and I just want to know if everything is all right?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Ayumi bit her lip. This was worrisome. What if Misaki got upset? What if she didn't want Ayumi to know what was wrong? What if she thought Ayumi was being nosy, when in reality, she was just concerned? What if -

"Listen... Ayumi..." Ayumi's thoughts were stopped short by Misaki's voice. "I'll tell you what's wrong," she continued, "as long as you don't tell anyone else."

Ayumi nodded, and then, realizing she was talking on the phone and Misaki couldn't see her, said "Yes. I promise."

"Okay... So, my boyfriend, Hiroshi, you know him, I talk about him sometimes. Well, he's signing up to, um, study abroad. In France. Paris, actually."

"Wow... that's far," Ayumi said, wanting to simply listen.

"I know." Misaki was crying now. "I don't really get to see him much anyway, but now I _really_ won't be able to see him. And, you know, Paris is the City of Love. What if he forgets about me? What if he finds someone else?"

"Misaki, anyone with a working brain would be crazy to leave you."

"Thanks." She sniffled. "I just don't know. And the last time we talked was at his dorm. He told me about France and we argued and fought and I left so quickly. I'm such a terrible girlfriend."

"You're not a terrible girlfriend! Don't say that about yourself!" Ayumi exclaimed. She hated it when people spoke low of themselves.

"The worst part is he's leaving a week and a half from today! And we were fighting and stuff and it ended in such a bad way and I just... I - I just d-don't want him to leave with bad memories of me!" Misaki finished with a sob. Ayumi gave her a couple of minutes of silence to finish crying and to just let it all out. Once she had quieted down, she spoke again.

"What should I do Ayumi?" Misaki asked.

Ayumi thought for a minute. "Well, you can't stop him from going. He made a decision for the greater good of his education." Misaki coughed a little on the other line, to tired to cry. "The only way you'll be able to fix this is to apologize for arguing," Ayumi continued, "and maybe plan one last date or something like that. Wait, not your _last_ last date, but your last one before he goes to Paris."

"That's actually a really good idea," Misaki said, nose clogged from crying. "Maybe we could go to the festival in the town park, you know the one that functions year-round?"

"Oh yeah!" Ayumi had gone to the festival only once, with the cheer squad as an end to the football season. It was nice enough, with little rides and games. Things like that.

"That was where Hiroshi and I went on our first date," Misaki added quietly.

"Then it's perfect! You have to go! Call him right now!" Ayumi yelled excitedly.

"Okay, okay." Misaki laughed.

"Go on!"

"Ayumi, thank you. You're a huge help."

"Thank me later! Go schedule the date! Bye!" And Ayumi hung up the phone.

* * *

A week and a half later, Ayumi was standing in the airport with Misaki and Hiroshi. Ayumi had come with them because she and Misaki were seeing a movie after he left to ease off the pain of there departure. Misaki and Hiroshi were hugging and kissing goodbye, and Ayumi was trying to ignore and not look at the evident PDA in front of her. It was certainly awkward and she was quite sure that her cheeks were the color of a cherry, but there was something that prevented her from saying anything. Perhaps it was the fact that this was the last kiss they would share for awhile. Misaki had planned a trip over there in the next four months, but four months was a long time.

Finally, they parted and with one last hug for Misaki and a wave for Ayumi, Hiroshi and his suitcase rolled away to check his bags, go through security, and eventually get on his plane. Misaki and Ayumi waved madly at his shrinking figure for what seemed like hours.

When he was finally hidden from view, Misaki turned to Ayumi. "Really, thank you so much Ayumi. I owe you one."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Here's another chapter for you!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 10

Yoshiki had been arrested. Something about public misconduct and overdrinking. He ended up missing about a week of school and by the time he got back, the student body was swimming with rumors. He had been bailed out (although no one knew whim had paid him) and he refused to speak about the matter.

If there was a warning sign for Ayumi to stop liking that prick, it was this. The guy was totally bad news, and Ayumi's status as top of the class would be endangered if she interacted with someone like Yoshiki. He was not a nice kid and he would surely cause trouble if she spent time with him. But... for some reason she couldn't seem to keep him out of her mind. She kept trying to tell herself that this wasn't a good idea, that she should just forget about him. Move on. Find some hot, new guy to preoccupy her thoughts.

But it was as if something prevented her from doing just that. Perhaps her heart felt that he must have some sob story or at least some rewarding qualities. There had to be _something_ that was good about him. After all, Ayumi believed that everybody was good at heart. She felt that we were born kind, born as people without an angry thought, born as innocent human beings.

Rumiko bragged about Yoshiki's recent arrest. She spoke to all of her friends about how cool it was that he was now in the government's criminal records, how he was "brave" for going with the police to the station. _What else was he supposed to do?_ , thought Ayumi. _Try to avoid it and be faced with another charge?_ Rumiko talked about how it was _her_ boyfriend who was now notorious around school. One day, in class, she said, to no one in particular, "Someday, we'll be like Bonnie and Clyde."

Ayumi, who was walking by, muttered with a snort, "Yeah, it's so romantic how they both died untimely, gruesome deaths."

"What did you say to me?" Rumiko asked with an angry tone.

Without turning back to look at her, Ayumi responded with a simple, "Nothing."

There was silence for a second and then Rumiko said with a smirk, "Whatever. You're just jealous because he loves me and not some depressed nerd."

Ayumi stooped walking and stood to face Rumiko. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. "What did you say to me?" Ayumi asked quietly.

Rumiko laughed and said, "You heard me."

"Well, I regret to inform you that I am not so low as to like or date a criminal. That's trashy. And although I may be what you call a ' _depressed nerd_ ', at least I'm not a drugged up freak. So I hope you enjoy your lives as Bonnie and Clyde, until the police ambush you and pump your guts full of lead." And with a turn of her heel, Ayumi walked back to her desk.

She was halfway there when, all of a sudden, her hair was tugged so hard that she fell to ground. Stunned and dazed, she tried to get up, but a weight land on top of her own and she felt a blunt force on the side of her face. It quickly donned on her that she was in the middle of a fight and she saw a flash of strawberry blonde hair and knew that Rumiko was punching her.

Although Ayumi was small, she had more muscle mass over Rumiko due to cheerleading, and was strong enough to roll over so that she had the advantage of being on top of Rumiko. In the heat of the moment and forgetting all of her morals, Ayumi began to punch Rumiko repeatedly. The class was recording the fight on their phones and shouting. Rumiko pushed Ayumi off and started kicking her. Ayumi grabbed Rumiko's foot and brought her tumbling to the ground. Ayumi's lip was bleeding and she was quite sure that the skin around her eye was turning a deep purple. She delivered another punch to Rumiko's jaw before she was forcefully shoved backward. She tried to run back and hit Rumiko again, but was held back by the strong arms of a teacher. Rumiko was also being held back.

Ayumi's lip had been cut and had gotten a black eye. Her knuckles were cut and bloddied with both Rumiko's and her own blood. Her stomach hurt and she felt like she was going to throw up, for Rumiko had kicked her there. Her ankle felt awful and she was physically unable to walk on it. She couldn't feel her toes. Rumiko had a bloody nose and her jaw was badly bruised. Whenever she tried to open or close it, it made a popping noise and she clutched it in pain. She had a scratch on her cheek, no doubt from one of Ayumi's nails. Her collarbone was purple as well.

The two teachers holding them pulled them outside, Ayumi hopping on one foot and Rumiko whimpering.

And there, in the middle of the hallway, he stood, eyes wide in surprise.

Yoshiki Kishinuma.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hello, I'm back from the dead! School has sucked me into a whirlwind of homework. I take a lot of honors classes and I'm in a bunch of extracurricular activities, so I don't get much time to write. Also, and this has nothing to really do with my story, but do any of you know what happened to idig4skullz? I went to go read one of his/her stories the other day and I couldn't find it. I then Googled it and it came up with an error when I tried to open it. I was just wondering because they're my favorite writer and they were the one who inspired me to write. I just miss their stories! So let me know if you know. Anyway, onto the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 11

Ayumi was filled with shock. Why did he just have to be in the hall at this very moment? Ayumi and Rumiko both froze for a second and time seemed to stop.

Ayumi tried to evaluate the situation carefully. Okay, so the guy that had her emotions all in knots was standing there watching her after her ass had gotten kicked. Wow, this was a bad time. Not to mention that the person with whom she had fought was his... wait, were they dating? A hookup? Friends-with-benefits? One of those couples that lasts a day and two minutes? Let's just say she was someone he had share a kiss with. And now he would see what a horrible person Ayumi was indeed. Crap.

Wait, why did she care so much about what he thought of her? Why did this always preoccupy her thoughts? Why couldn't she just live a normal life?

Just as they were passing him, the fire alarm went off. Great. Just great. Whoopdee-fucking-doo. Assuming it was just a drill, Ayumi attempted to cover her ears from the loud ringing of the fire bells, but she remembered that her hands were held by the teacher. She would have to endure the screeching. However, when she looked at the teachers' with pale faces and worried eyes, Ayumi grew concerned. Was this a drill or not?

Her question was answered immediately by the sprinklers going of, sending the hallway into complete pandemonium. Students rushed about and hurried past, pushing around people and jumping over satchels that had been dropped to the floor. It was a race to the door and Ayumi could already see a sort of film over her vision, causing her to blink her eyes loads, and she could smell the smoke.

Suddenly, the teacher holding her away from Rumiko was gone and Ayumi was free. She turned so that she could run with the other students to the exit. But everyone turned around and she was pushed backwards. Peeking over the tops of heads, she saw that the ceiling had caved in. She turned and followed the crowd, everyone desperately trying to find the nearest door to the outside.

The smoke was starting to fill the school, and Ayumi could feel heat radiating from the ceiling. Something must have happened in one of the chemistry labs, for they were upstairs. She thought about how the ceiling tiles were simply plastic polyester, but then extinguished the thought from her head, desperately trying to keep her calm. Her mind, instead, turned to Yoshiki. She had lost sight of him in the panic of the fire alarms. Was he okay? Had he gotten out of the building? What if he had gone down a hallway where flames licked at the walls? Or a classroom that was a burning inferno? What if he had been under the ceiling when it fell? What if she never saw him again?

It was in this moment that Ayumi slipped on the water coating the ground from the spouts above their heads and fell. Oh no. This was bad. In the rush to find an exit, people had stomped all over her. Anytime Ayumi would ever try to stand up, she would just get pushed back down. Someone stepped on her wrist and it made a sickening crack. She screamed, but no one could hear over the fire alarm. She made a fetal attempt to crawl away. Bit by bit, she got farther away from the stampede. She sat herself up, every part of her body hurting. Her skin was red, and she was so bruised and battered, that the damage from the fight looked lackluster in comparison. She breathed heavily, trying to think. A strong majority of the people once running through the halls had left, and now it was just couple of students passing by every now and then. Ayumi was wet and in the worst pain of her life, and it was only getting harder to breathe. The smoke was clouding her vision and she could feel it coating her throat. Her eyes watered profusely from the contact with her body.

Pushing herself up, she jogged through corridor after corridor, but most of the doors had been blocked. Ceiling tiles had fallen everywhere and Ayumi found herself rushing upstairs. There had to be a fire exit somewhere up there. However, she was greeted by a horrific sight. In front of her and to her right, flames covered everything. The classrooms, the lockers, the walls, the ceiling, the floor. Everything. And it was moving so fast. The hallway reeked of gasoline and lighter fluid. She gasped, but the sudden use of her trachea caused her to cough as though her lungs were deflating. Had this been arson?

Ayumi looked around her. She had two options. A history classroom closer to the flames or a chemistry room closer to her. Now, Ayumi was no idiot. She knew full well that chemistry could be extremely dangerous if done incorrectly. She also knew what would happen if certain chemicals were lit on fire. But for the life of her, the flames were speeding in her direction, and she was willing to take a risk.

She tried the knob and it was unlocked. _Thank God,_ she thought as she slammed it behind her. She dashed towards the windows, ignoring the bubbling chemicals surrounding her. She was sweating now, and she was officially heaving with the need to breathe. The room was _drenched_ with gasoline and lighter fluid; the class had been empty because this was the teacher's free period. She looked out the window and there was no fire exit. Shit. She would have to jump. _Shit._

Ayumi tried to wrench a window open, but it was jammed. She frantically tried the next one. Jammed. All of them were. She looked back and saw the door being devoured by the fire. Fuck.

Thinking fast, she grabbed a stool and hit it against the window. Glass shattered all over her and she felt her fingers screaming for plasters. Most of it had gotten in her hair and her scalp was being pricked anytime she moved. Chemicals were bubbling over, some of their bottles exploding in the immense heat and setting the lab tables alight. She turned back to the door. It had practically disintegrated and the flames were approaching faster than a car. She faced the window and hopped onto the ledge, glass cutting into her shoes and hands. She squeezed her eyes shut and jumped.

Ayumi heard a deafening boom behind her. Chemicals had combusted and she had jumped out of an exploding room like in an action movie. She could feel the heat on her back. She could smell the tips of her hair being singed off. She could feel gravity pulling her back down to Earth, saying, "Come hit the ground and splatter." She see could Death awaiting her, his black cloak open at the ready. She prepared herself for pain. For the end.

But it didn't come. Instead, she was enveloped into a pair of familiar, strong arms...


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: New chapter! I think I'm going to try to upload every weekend. No promises though, as I always have a lot of thing to get done. Also, thank you for all the lovely reviews and messages! I love reading them, so keep sending them if you will! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party or Titanic. All rights go to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 12

When Ayumi opened her eyes, her vision was greeted by a terribly concerned stare. His blue-grey eyes looked deeply into hers, like they were drinking her in. He held her to him tightly, as if he never wanted let go. But, all she could do was sit there. Her wrist was numb by now and she couldn't help but worry about her hair. What if it all had burned off? She already had super short, fine hair. She tried to focus on hugging him back, but it felt as if her arms were made of lead. When he finally looked back down at her, she was surprised to see the tiny smirk on his face, his eyes slightly twinkling. It took her breath away.

Not literally, but... oh, wait, she wasn't breathing. She was sure she was purple by now. She smiled and shook her head a little, even though it made her dizzy. But when she tried to take a breath in, she realized she couldn't. It wasn't working. Why wasn't it working? Why couldn't she breathe? It was like having the wind knocked out of you. And then the panic set in and she was a mess. She was terrified that this was how she was going to die, in Yoshiki's arms, purple in the face, and crying. She found it strange that she had the ability to cry but not to breathe. Funny, how things work out.

Like a switch had been flicked, she could breathe again. Ayumi gasped for air, never needing it more, but anytime she tried to breathe, she coughed. It was growing violent, and she sounded as if she was trying to hack up her lung or something. The coughing stopped abruptly and it was replaced by a sickening twist in her stomach. And then, anything that she had digested in the past 24 hours was on Yoshiki's shoes.

Surprisingly so, he didn't drop her. She continued to throw up all over his pants and shoes until a medic from an ambulance grabbed her and pulled her away from Yoshiki. Her immediate instinct was to reach back for him. She wasn't sure if she did or not; she was completely unaware of her body right now. Ayumi was still throwing up and that was making it even harder to breathe. She was packed into an ambulance and a bag was held up to her mouth. A medic counted down to one and pushed directly under her stomach, causing her to get the rest of the vomit out of her system.

She breathed in the air, slowly this time, because one of the EMTs had told her that gasping and hyperventilating would only cause her to puke again. Ayumi could still feel the grimy smoke coating everything around and inside her and she had a desperate need to cough. The EMT had also said that she shouldn't do that. Ayumi still did not know what her hair looked like. Probably an odd length and balding. She was trying to ignore the dryness in her throat. The EMT said she wouldn't be able to drink water for a few hours. Once she got to the hospital, they could give her an IV, but that wouldn't make her throat feel less scratchy. Or would it?

Ayumi had only been to the hospital once when she was 10. She had jumped off a swing, trying to get higher than her sister, Hinoe. She did, but with a cost. Her ankle came out from under her, and, with a loud snap, it broke right in two. Not even a fracture, it literally just split. Ayumi screamed immediately and Hinoe ran inside to get their parents. However, at the hospital, there was no need for an IV because she wasn't dehydrated and she wasn't thirsty either because, at the time, her throat didn't make her feel as though she had smoked for 30 years.

The memory caused Ayumi to look down cautiously at her wrist. Pinkish-purple and swollen. Yep, definitely broken. She was still being checked for all her wounds. "Does this hurt?" "No." "Did you fall here?" "Yes." "Can you explain how you got this bruise?" "I ran into the coffee table two days ago."

After what may as well have been a confessional, the ambulance began to move. They were already applying bandages. By the time they got to the hospital, Ayumi wouldn't have anything wrong to fix. Wait, had they called her parents? Did the school know where she was? Did Yoshiki know where she was? Why did she care what Yoshiki knew of her? Wait, was he okay? Sure, he was out of the school and he looked fine and he was able to hold her, but what if he... if he... got a... bruise...?

She immediately went to pinch the bridge of her nose, but an EMT pushed her hand back down.

Ayumi really needed to sort out this Yoshiki situation. It was getting to be all to much.

* * *

Ayumi sighed and looked out the window as the night sky grew darker. She fumbled with her hospital bracelet. Her parents had left 15 minutes ago and she was already terribly lonely. They had brought magazines and books and a couple of Ayumi's favorite movies. They really should have brought her the schoolwork for the day. She didn't want to fall behind. Wait... she guessed school would be canceled for quite some time...

She threw _Titanic_ into the DVD system that was hooked up to the to the television in the room. She picked up the remote and after a few random pressings of buttons, she was able to skip to the sinking sequence. She had never really been into Rose and Jack's storyline, but she loved the sinking scenes. The intensity, the technology, the emotion, the soundtrack, the fact that such a huge mass of metal was _sinking_ , it all just amazed her.

Just as Ayumi was getting to the bit where the smokestacks began to fall, there was a knock on her door. Who could be knocking on the door at this hour? There were five minutes until visiting hours ended. Maybe it was nurse coming to check on her. Ayumi paused the film, showcasing Fabrizio making a weird face. She brushed her fingers through her hair and then called:

"Come in!" The door opened and shut quietly. Ayumi's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

Because there he stood.

In all his bleached blonde, grey-eyed, stunning smile glory.

Yoshiki Kishinuma.

Complete with bouquet of roses and a chocolate bar. The bouquet was slightly crumpled and chocolate bar may have broken in a few places. He panted as he spoke.

"They wouldn't... let me leave... until I... I was deemed healthy. I went to run... and got you these." He pushed the chocolate and flowers towards her. She smiled and gladly took them. She smelled the roses and then took a bite out of the chocolate.

"Thank you. I... just thank you. No one has ever been this kind to me." She smiled at him after she finished her awkward thank you and his smile back made her heart thump.

WHY WOULDN'T IT STOP DOING THAT?!

Ayumi's face grew hot at a new realization. "U-um... won't your girlfriend be... m-mad that you, um, came to v-visit me?"

His cheeks grew blotchy. "No... I... no. It's fine."

"Yoshiki?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I puked on your shoes."

Silence.

And then Yoshiki burst into the loudest fit of laughter ver. He snorted and cackled and then she started giggling which turned into her almost laughing and then choking and coughing and wheezing and him patting her back. _Way to be attractive Ayumi,_ she thought to herself. _Wait, why do I care about being attarctive?! He has a girlfriend, for God's sake-_

"Well..." Yoshiki's voice brought Ayumi out of her internal monologue. "I better get going."

"Yeah..." Ayumi tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Well... um... bye then. See you tomorrow?" he added hopefully.

"See you tomorrow," she agreed.

Yoshiki kissed her cheek quickly and then made his way to the door.

Ayumi moved her hand to her cheek, where he had kissed her, in shock.

Yoshiki was out the door in seconds, his face the color of apples.

Ayumi was still sitting in her bed, hand on her cheek.

* * *

 _Why do I act like this around her? Why can't I not make an ass out of myself_ , Yoshiki thought as he got into his car. _This can only end one way. Badly._


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Two days in a row!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 13

Yoshiki and come to visit Ayumi everyday at exactly 9:45 p.m. He would dish the news, social or otherwise, and let her know about the progress of the school's rebuilding. He told her everything that was going on and what people were saying about the incident. In their 15 minute time window, not much could be said. They spoke fast, trying to get in as much conversation as possible before he was forced to leave. Every time he came, he would bring her something. A card, some candy, books... the list went on and on.

He also told her about the investigation of the school's mysterious fire. Traces of lighter fluid and gasoline had been found, just as Ayumi had suspected, and now the reasoning for said fire was pointing towards arson. Students were being pulled at random and asked of their knowledge of the situation. So far they had no leads.

Ayumi was scheduled to be interviewed in two days time. Since she was one of the last people to get out of the school, she was seen as someone who may know who had done it. Of course, Ayumi knew nothing about who it was. In the moment, she was too afraid of burning alive to think about possible suspects.

"Are you worried about your interrogation?" Yoshiki asked one night.

"No. Why would I be?" Ayumi replied.

"Well, I've just heard that the police are very thorough with this. They really need some people of interest before the whole thing blows over." Yoshiki stated, looking down.

"They can't accuse me of having something to do with this! I was just stuck in a building!"

"A building purposefully lit on fire," he shot back.

Confused at his anger, Ayumi's mood changed quickly to defensive. "And what, you think _I_ did it? I wouldn't even have a reason for that to happen. I love school. You're unbelievable."

"I'm just saying, you're just like everybody else here."

Ayumi humphed and turned up her nose at him. "What are you talking about? You're the one who probably did it. After all, you're the delinquent here and I'm the class rep. Honestly, who would believe _your_ word over _mine_."

Yoshiki looked as though he had been slapped in the face. Ayumi knew she had taken it too far. As he turned to leave, she tried to reach out to him: "Yoshiki!" The door slammed shut behind him. "Wait..." Ayumi slowly dropped her hand that had been stretching towards the door.

Why did she always have to mess things like this up? She had enjoyed his visits these past few weeks. He was remarkably witty and funny. And kind. So very kind. The gifts he had brought her had either been consumed or placed carefully in the middle drawer of her left nightstand. She wanted to call him immediately. They exchanged numbers the second time he visited. He never missed a single day, no matter the weather or his state of being. He cared about her. They were so close now. Would this just end once school came back into session?

With a sigh, Ayumi reclined her hospital bed and tried to fall asleep. She had nightmares of losing her credibility and of losing Yoshiki.

* * *

"Hello, Miss Shinozaki. I am Detective Agasaka, and this is my secretary and case partner, Ms. Negeisi."

It was precisely 9:32 in the morning. Ayumi had been woken up, sponge bathed, and given breakfast. She combed out her hair and added a few touches of makeup to not look as dead as she felt. She had hardly gotten any sleep last night. She was thankful for not being tired; at least her answers to their questions wouldn't make her seem like she was drunk.

Detective Agasaka was handsome. Like, extremely handsome. Dashing. Fit to be a prince. He had a soft, kind smile and sweet eyes that twinkled happily, but could also see right through you. He reminded Ayumi of Satoshi and the thought made her face itch. Agasaka seemed like he wasn't the type to put words into Ayumi's mouth or to accuse her of starting the fire. He seemed like he was just questioning a witness.

Ms. Negeisi, on the other hand looked as if she could kill a man. She had a ballerina's body, only less soft and beautiful, and more tight and angled. She had naturally downturning eyebrows and a permanent frown. Hard blue eyes squinted at Ayumi's face and her dark hair was swept back into a tight and clean chignon. She wasn't bad-looking by any means, just... crisper. Sharp was the only way to describe her. She had bird-like features, in the sense that she moved quickly and efficiently.

"Now, Miss Shinozaki, as you know, we are here to question you about the recent fire at your school, belived to be arson. Ms. Negeisi will be recording this conversation on a recorder and short handing your answers to questions. Is that all right?"

Ayumi nodded.

"Good," Agasaka continued. "Do you swear to speak with truth and honesty?"

"I do," Ayumi stated.

"Wonderful. Well, let's just get right to it then, shall we? Ayumi, where were you on the date of February 13?"

"At school," she replied curtly. Negeisi scribbled something on a notepad.

"Do you remember what happened at school that day?"

"There was a fire." More scribbling.

"Yes. And do you remember what you were doing before this fire began?"

Ayumi's face reddened. Due to the state of the school, Ayumi had never been punished for her dispute with Rumiko. "Um, I was... I got into a fight with a girl and we were being pulled out of class when the alarm went off."

Agaska didn't seem to mind the fight and continued. "What did you do when the alarm went off?"

"The teachers abandoned us when the sprinklers went off. That was when we all knew it was real. I tried to run towards an exit, but the ceiling fell and I had to find another way."

"Continue."

"I slipped and fell and was trampled. That's how I broke my wrist," Ayumi said, nodding at her cast and sling.

"I see. How did you get up?"

"I waited until most people were gone. I rushed upstairs, because the fire was closing off exits downstairs. I went into the chemistry room and some of the chemicals were bubbling. The fire was getting closer. I tried to open the windows but they wouldn't open so I broke one with a stool. I jumped out of the room just as it exploded."

"Why did it explode?"

"Like I said, it was a lab room. Some chemicals shouldn't mix with fire."

"Okay, I understand. And then what?" he pressed.

"A boy caught me."

"A boy?"

"Yes."

Agasaka smiled, as if off in his own world. Ayumi noticed the ring on his left ring finger. She smiled too. Getting back to business, Agasaka said: "I have one final question. Do you have any evidence or proof that this was arson?"

"Yes. Everything was coated in lighter fluid and gasoline, specifically upstairs."

"Okay. Thank you for your honesty and time."

They both got up to leave. Negeisi was out the door in seconds, obviously having better witnesses to attend too. But Agaska stayed for a second.

"You know... maybe you should talk to that boy. You see... I caught a girl who fell out of tree... and now... well, we're married." He happily showed her the ring. "Perhaps it's just an uncanny coincidence, but... never mind. Just talk to him. Kikki didn't talk to me for weeks and I almost thought she hated me. But then, she said something to me, and it wasn't a greeting, it was just the word 'lovely'. I don't know why she said it and I don't know how I knew, but... but in that moment... I knew she was meant for me." He looked down bashfully. "So just give it a try, maybe, I don't know."

As Agaska left he said one last thing:

"Good luck, kid."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I will admit to veering away from the storyline a bit. No one has accused me of this, but I thought I should let you all know that most of these last chapters have been rather spontaneous and not what I particularly had in mind. I don't dislike them , and hopefully you don't either, but I'm going to try and stick to my original out line from now on. This chapter is also slightly short. Sorry!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party.**

Chapter 14

Ayumi shut her locker carefully. In the time it had taken to redo the school, her wrist had healed completely. Her fight with Rumiko had been completely forgotten and neither of them had been punished. Misaki had come to visit multiple times throughout her hospital stay, but Yoshiki had not contacted her since their fight.

She had no idea what happened to him. What happened between them. She had seen, on the first day back, him and Rumiko, holding hands and laughing with their group of rebels. She decided she wouldn't speak to him. It wasn't worth it.

As she walked upstairs to her next class, she bumped into Satoshi.

"Ayumi! Glad to see you feeling better! You gave us all a big fright!"

She couldn't help but internally acknowledge that those were the exact words her English teacher had said to her. "Yeah," she said, rubbing the back of her neck and biting her lip. "It was frightening to be in that situation."

They went awkwardly silent. What had they talked about when they were together? What were their common interests? How had she forgotten he existed? _Because you became infatuated with someone else_ , her conscience whispered. She shook her head to remove the thought.

"Are you okay?" Satoshi was looking down at Ayumi, concerned. She realized she must have been shaking her head a bit too forcefully.

"Oh, yeah! I'm fine!" More awkward silence. "So... how are things with Naomi?"

Satoshi looked relived for their to be a real topic to their conversation. He smiled warmly. "Oh, things are great. Naomi, she's a really sweet girl, you know? And she's good at lots of things. She can sew, she can play piano, she can cook. She can also take me down in fight if she wanted to. She not a housewife." They both laughed a little. "You know, things are just... sublime. Like, peaceful. Serene." His smile settled, like he was thinking about her with joy. His eyes glazed over at the thought of her and he looked off into the distance.

He seemed to come back to reality after a second or two. "So, how are things on your end? Find anyone special yet?"

"No. Well, actually..."

She thought about Yoshiki. About the roof. About his eyes. His grin. The way his silhouette looked in the sunlight. His soft-looking hair. His pushy attitude. His warm heart. The fire. How he caught her. The puke-covered shoes. The look of relief. The hospital. _The hospital_. _The something_. The feeling they had between them, that electricity. The way they were able to drink each other in, the way they could see each other in a bright light. Lovely. She thought about the word lovely.

She thought about Rumiko.

The tousled hair.

The hickey.

The hand-holding.

The smiling.

The looking.

 _The everything_.

"No. I haven't found any body yet."

* * *

It was now February. Snow was melting and then drifting back. Ayumi was immersed in school work. She hadn't spoken to Yoshiki in a month. She hadn't seen him in two weeks. She felt as if maybe, just maybe, he had forgotten about her. Maybe he had run off and eloped with Rumiko. Maybe she was pregnant. Maybe they would make a happy family together one day. Maybe Ayumi was out of the picture.

But she wished she could forget about Yoshiki. She wanted to forget him. Erase him. Get him away. She wanted to _move on_.

But how long was that process? For her, it was taking forever.

She sat at her desk in her room. Pictures hung up on the wall in front of her. She gazed at them, sighing. There was one from cheer. One of her and her friends at a party. One of her and Satoshi that she still had yet to take down. One from the hospital, tubes in her nose. One of her and Misaki. Plentiful ones of other school days, old photos, and landscape pictures.

And there.

Right there.

A class photo.

And standing at the back, left corner, hands in pockets, steely eyes set on the camera, grin amok.

Yoshiki.

And he was beautiful.

In that moment, her stomach erupted and her heart raced.

She _really_ liked him.

 _Really._

And she was broken.

* * *

Yoshiki walked into Rumiko's room. She stood up, angry.

"Who let you in? What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"I let myself in. I need to talk to you."

She huffed. "What is it now? You're always so needy."

"We need to work harder. Do more. For this thing to work, you need to put in effort."

Rumiko huffed again. "Yoshiki, I have work."

"I don't care. This needs to happen. I thought you wanted revenge. I thought you cared about this... this... _project._ "

"But, Yoshiki, I don't have _time_."

"This needs to happen," he repeated.

"What needs to happen," she whined.

" _This_ ," he motioned between them.

Rumiko raised a brow, finally understanding. She smiled seductively and carefully put her books away. She sauntered up to him. "Okay... Where do we start?"

Yoshiki looked away. "Uh... I don't care."

She smashed her lips against his. Rumiko was an awful kisser. No passion. No feeling.

She pushed her body against his, she touched him, she worked her fingers through his hair.

Yoshiki hated every second of it.

He didn't want Rumiko.

He wanted Ayumi.

So why was he doing this?


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Sorry, this is a slightly shorter chapter! I'll make up for it in the next one!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 15

Rumors of Yoshiki's and Rumiko's sexual endeavors had been floating around school all week. Supposedly, they had been caught under the bleachers, going at it like rabbits. They had been suspended for two weeks. PDA itself was prohibited in the school, let alone having sex on the premises. Surveillance footage caught them doing it in multiple locations: under the stage, in the secretary's office, in the back kitchens. Students had stopped eating meals for a couple days after they heard that one. Witnesses said a student had reported "noises" coming from the bleachers and the teachers caught them red-handed.

And now, they were back.

Needless to say, Ayumi was a mess.

She had thrown up when she heard about it. Literally, she had stormed out of her third period class, dashed to the nearest bathroom, and threw up her parfait from that morning. She then realized she had walked into the boys' bathroom and left blushing after seeing a boy pee.

So when she heard they were back, she nearly threw up again. "Oh God..." she groaned, wavering on the spot.

Misaki grabbed her shoulder to steady her. "Ayumi, chill out. It's not that big of a deal."

"Yes it is! He..." Ayumi drifted off, beginning to question why this _was_ a big deal to her. After all, she and Yoshiki had only talked on a few occasions. Sure, he had saved her life (twice), but they weren't a thing, nor would they ever be.

"Is everything all right?" Misaki asked, her eyes concerned.

That was a good question. A good question, indeed. Who would be all right in this situation? Who wouldn't? Was Yoshiki all right with this? Was he all right with Rumiko? Was their sex all right? What established if something was all right? Were certain people all right? Were certain things all right? _Was she all right_?

She saw them then.

Standing closely together.

Holding hands.

Laughing.

People around them asking if it was real, if they had done it.

Them nodding with satisfaction.

More laughing.

Yoshiki seeing her.

Her heart stopping for a second.

And for a second, her thinking his had too.

They continued. Walked on. Away.

Ayumi turned back to Misaki.

"No," she stated after careful thinking. "No, I'm not all right."

"What's wrong?" Misaki asked cautiously.

"Walk with me home today after school. There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

* * *

They both ate their strawberry bread quietly. Misaki hadn't mentioned the secret and Ayumi was growing too scared to tell her. Silence.

Ayumi began thinking to herself. What _if she judges me?_ _What if she hates him? What if she knows his darkest secrets? What if they dated at one point?_

"So," Misaki began, clearing her throat. "What seems to be the trouble."

Ayumi burst like a faucet. "I really like Yoshiki Kishinuma and I know he's bad but he's really not because when I tried to kill myself he was there and he saved me and when the fire happened he saved me again from falling to my death and he has amazing eyes and an amazing smile and an amazing heart and I just _really_ like him but he's dating Rumiko and they're obviously, you know, _close_ , but I can't help but think maybe there's a chance and maybe I'm stupid but I don't care because I _really_ like him and I don't know what to do." She panted after she finished, saying it all in one breath.

Misaki's eyes were wide and her jaw was slack, her mouth forming an "O". She cleared her throat again. "Wow..." She looked down at her lap.

Ayumi's heart sank. "You're judging me."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are." Ayumi sighed.

"It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Well, he's not the best of guys..." Misaki said, biting her lip. Ayumi was about to cry. "But...if he saved you _twice_... and you feel something... then maybe there's a chance."

Ayumi's eyes lit up. "You really think so."

Misaki smiled and nodded her head. "I really think so."

"But what about Rumiko." Ayumi frowned.

Misaki smirked. "We need to head to the mall."

"Why?"

"Well... I have a plan..."

* * *

"Rumiko, do you really want to continue this?"

"What the fuck, Yoshiki, you're the one who came up with this," Rumiko said angrily. Everything she said was angry. It was really starting to piss Yoshiki off.

"Rumiko, we just... we don't need to do it, like, for real. We can just pretend," Yoshiki said, trying hard not to roll his eyes.

"Where's the fun in that?!" Rumiko cried, furious.

The sex with Rumiko was worse than the kissing. Yoshiki was never pleased and it never felt like what he felt it should. He was growing to dread whenever she got in a... _mood_. And they really didn't have to do it. They could have lied. They didn't have to get suspended. Half the time he didn't even get off, and this just made her grow angrier. She said it was his fault, when in fact he knew, from prior experience, that it really wasn't.

"Listen to me," she said, pointing at him. "The plan was to ruin that girl's life. And I mean _ruin_. _You_ wanted us in a relationship. _You_ offered the sex. _You_ are the one who started this. And _I'm_ going to be the one to end it. Do you hear me?"

Yoshiki simply nodded.

"Good. Get out of my sight."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I'm currently on Spring Break! I'm not going anywhere until next Friday, so I should be able to post a bunch! Expect a spam of chapters! I would like to finish this story up. I have a new writing project I'd like to begin and I'm super excited to start on that.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 16

"You've got this," Misaki said, driving Ayumi to school.

"I don't know... What if I get sent to the office?" Ayumi asked, worried.

"Ha! Please, there are loads of girls who dress worse than what you're wearing."

"Yes, but I'm the class rep. I'm supposed to represent the model student! Does this look model student-esque?!"

"Well, that skirt makes you look like a model," Misaki said, smirking and pulling into the school's parking lot.

"Uggghhhh. I can't do this."

Misaki looked at her seriously. "Stop saying that you can't do this. You so can. I believe in you. You said you wanted Yoshiki's attention, right?"

Ayumi nodded meekly.

"Well, you'll _definitely_ get some attention from this."

Ayumi gulped and stepped out of the car.

* * *

Whispers filled the cafeteria as Ayumi walked through it to get to her first period class. She and Misaki had gone shopping the last weekend and now was the time to show off her more dark side. Her skirt was much shorter and tighter. She now wore black socks that went a little bit over her knee instead of white ankle socks. Her shoes were dark brown, rounded loafers, the same pair Misaki owned. Her blazer had only one of it's buttons done, the top one, to over pronounce her cleavage. Her top buttons on her undershirt were undone as well. She was wearing a heavily padded pushup bra and her chest looked more visible, especially if she leaned down or crossed her arms. Her makeup had been done carefully. She had a light contour and highlight, an edgy eye, and a dark red lip. Her hair had been blown out and it was down, straight at the top and curling at the tips. She looked like a movie star.

Boys looked in awe and amazement, their girlfriends hitting their arms. Ayumi, who was currently sucking on a cherry sucker, further pronouncing her sexy seductiveness, turned into a hallway. She winked at a freshman and he fell backwards into a locker.

She was feeling rather good about herself, when all of a sudden, he was there.

Damn, he really needed to stop popping up out of nowhere.

They both stopped. His jaw dropped. Then closed. Then dropped again. She shook her head and walked toward him. He was still frozen in place. Once she got near him, she felt her heart pounding, but she sticked to the script she and Misaki had sort of come up with.

"Hey, Yoshiki." She said, her voice sultry, slow, hushed.

He tried to speak, but couldn't.

She laughed and suddenly grabbed on to his tie and brought him forward, near her face, startling him, although he stayed frozen. "I'm glad I could leave you speechless. Hopefully next time I can leave you breathless too." She let go and walked away. She looked back to find him gawking at her. She winked, gave a little wave, and then continued to class, exhaling in relief. Christ, that was difficult to do.

* * *

The rest of the day resulted in multiple boys asking Ayumi to dinners and movies and beaches. She declined them all. she had one boy she was wishing for a date with.

And he was walking with his girlfriend.

However, this time when they walked together, it both looked and felt forced, as if Rumiko and Yoshiki had a silent war going on. Rumiko's teeth looked too white, her eyes too wide, and Yoshiki's jaw was clenched tightly. People spoke in hushed tones, mouths hidden behind hands as they told their friends rumors and secrets. When the whispering had reached its climax, Rumiko just aggressively kissed Yoshiki, who aggressively kissed back, much to Ayumi and Misaki's shock.

"I thought you said it worked?!" Mistake's asked.

"I thought it did!" Ayumi said, still watching the spectacle.

"Obviously not!" Misaki took a second to breathe. "Okay. Skip Plans B, C, and D; let's focus on Plan E."

"Plan E?!"

"Plan E. It's the only thing that will work."

"Plan E will only cause drama..." Ayumi said, biting her nail.

"Or he'll stop resisting and confess his love for you. And stop doing that, you'll ruin your manicure," Misaki said, swatting at Ayumi's hand.

"Sorry. Are you we should go straight to Plan E?" Ayumi asked.

"Yes. It's our only chance. Plan E is now effective immediately."

* * *

Ayumi took a deep breath and then walked into the classroom.

He sat at a desk, the lights off, a book covering his face.

Ayumi and Misaki had figured out that Yoshiki had a detention every day after school. They had also found out that Rumiko spent her detentions in the kitchens, cleaning plates. The two met up after her detention was done. He would wait in the classroom, tell the teacher he was going to stay and study, and the teacher would leave. Rumiko came up there ten minutes later to meet him. Ayumi had a ten minute window to work her Plan E magic.

Yoshiki removed the book at the sound of footsteps. "You're here earl-" He stopped when he realized it was Ayumi.

"Hi," she said closing the door carefully behind her.

"Hi," he said, now sitting up straight.

"So, um, how's Rumiko?" she asked, slinking towards him.

"Fine. Uh, how's Satoshi?" he asked, becoming more and more aware of their closing distance.

"In the past."

And then he was out of the seat and they were kissing and it was all too fast and all too much. Ayumi felt overwhelmed by the way his body felt against her and the way he was kissing her. Up close, he smelled like cigarettes and cologne and just plain boy. But there was an underlying scent she couldn't quite place, a homey-type smell that was just _him_. And he tasted like peppermint sweets. She smiled into the kiss at first, but eventually they were making out. It wasn't slobbery and it wasn't dry and it was just... just... _just_. It felt beautiful. It made her feel beautiful. He made her feel beautiful. Because what she was feeling now was amazing. She couldn't see them from an outside perspective, but if she could, she could tell it wouldn't look like when he kissed Rumiko today. It would look softer than that. Her arms were wrapped against his neck, his arms were wrapped against her waist, and she was melting. Everything felt warm. And aware. And _right_. The way his lips locked into hers felt _right_. There were so many emotions flying in between them that they hardly noticed when someone screamed out:

"WHAT THE HELL?!"


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I'm going to try and end this in the next couple of days. Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter. Enjoy now! Also, please pay mind to the upcoming "Longest Paragraph in History".**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 17

Ayumi went into a panic for a few seconds. She thought that maybe a teacher had found them. As she and Yoshiki broke away abruptly, she turned her head to the doorway. She sighed in relief when she saw that it was only Rumiko.

Wait.

RUMIKO?

"What do you think you're doing, Yoshiki? This wasn't part of the plan!" Rumiko cried, her eyes practically red with anger.

"What plan?" Ayumi asked quietly.

"I don't care anymore Rumiko. Neither do you, so just give it up!" Yoshiki yelled.

"Oh please, for the last time, the plan was _your idea_!" Rumiko bellowed back.

"What plan?" Ayumi asked, more forcefully.

"Just shut up about the goddamned plan, would you?!" he yelled.

"You're the one who came up with it! I was only in it for the money!" Rumiko screamed, nearly foaming at the mouth.

"WHAT PLAN?!" Ayumi shouted. Rumiko and Yoshiki looked at her blankly, surprised she had yelled. Then Rumiko smiled coyly and narrowed her eyes, as if she knew a secret.

"Oh, honey. He never told you about the plan?"

Ayumi stole a glance at Yoshiki, who wouldn't look at her. Instead, he stared intently at the chalkboard. "No," she said, feeling small.

Rumiko cackled. "Doesn't surprise me," she said. "After all, he wouldn't. You see, the _plan_ that your _lover_ ," Ayumi winced, "so wonderfully came up with was to either result in you going insane and killing yourself, or transferring schools. We hoped for the latter, but the former as always up for grabs." Ayumi gasped, and looked at Yoshiki again, who looked like he had seen a ghost. "Well," Rumiko continued, "he sort of hired me to help. I was still bitter over the whole cheer thing and he was still bitter over the fact that you had made him look like a wimp in front of his friends. I gladly took the position. It offered great pay, a reputation, and some sex. Although, believe me, the sex was quite awful." Ayumi glanced at Yoshiki again, and now he just looked angry. "Do pay mind to the fact that this was all planned before you went all emotional on us and tried to kill yourself. Perhaps that's when he fell for you. Anyway, we got in a fight after that. I thought maybe he should have just let you go, our job would be done. He told me, in a desperate attempt to redeem himself, that we wouldn't have any fun that way. Things were going swimmingly from there on out. You fell so easily into the trap. You fought me right off the bat and Yoshiki's arson was so simple. Believe it or not, I'm quite smart, and I was able to hack into the school's system and turn down the surveillance cameras. If only he hadn't caught you when you jumped; we wouldn't be here right now. The plan was originally for him to lead you on and make you fall for him and then break your heart by being with me. But that was obviously not working, what with you being so lovesick with Satoshi. So, the plan was for him to kiss you. And, lucky for you, he didn't follow suit. Yoshiki's a pretty good actor, but what just happened was obviously not acting." Ayumi blushed. "So there. That the plan. To break you."

Ayumi felt frozen in place. She didn't know whether to run and cry or stay and fight. In the end, she just turned to Yoshiki. "Why?"

He looked at her eyes and then immediately looked away. "She told you why."

"For that stupid reason? You wanted me _dead_ for that?"

"If it helps you any, he was showing resistance these past couple weeks," Rumiko said, rolling her eyes.

Ayumi ignored her. "I can't believe it." Yoshiki looked at her, holding it together this time. "I just can't believe it," she continued. "Yoshiki, I... I loved you. I really did. I tried. I loved you for who I thought you were, and your eyes, and your smile, dammit your _smile_." She turned to him, too angry to cry. "But all this time, all this time I spent loving you, you hated me. No, not hated. You _despised_ me. I can't believe I loved you. I... I can't believe _you_." She glared at him. His eyes were wide. "after all this time... I... I can't..." She paused, took a breath, and looked him in the eye. "You are single-handedly, intensely, indefinitely, absolutely, and without disregard, the _worst_ person I have _ever_ met." And with that, she stormed away.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: So, after much consideration and thinking, I have decided to end this story here. This will be the last chapter of Confusion. Thank you all so much for all the support throughout writing my first story. I will write an author's note at the bottom to go more in depth. For now, onto the last chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party. All rights belong to their respectable owners.**

Chapter 18

Ayumi found herself on the roof. It was a windy day and her hair blew across her forehead. The sun was out, mocking her pain. She grimaced into the breeze. It was far too nice for her to be sad. She could hear children playing in the park nearby, cars zooming around town, friends gossiping on park benches. The world had an atmosphere that shown through clouds of gray.

Her heart was overcast in rain though. Not even the sound of birds chirping excitedly to each other could cheer her up. She wiped at the tears under her eyes, the makeup she had been wearing smeared on her hand. She gave an angry sigh and pulled out her compact, furiously wiping at the remaining makeup until she looked like herself again. This was a stupid idea. This whole thing had been stupid. Of course he didn't care. No one did.

She thought of his eyes when she confessed. Maybe he hadn't felt the spark that she had. Maybe it was nothing after all. Maybe none of this meant anything to him. She thought of the way his lips felt against hers. The way they locked together perfectly. The way they became one person, one heart in that moment. He was there. He was there in that moment. He cared in that moment. No one could kiss like that and not care.

Or could they?

Could her heart just be snapped without a second word?

Would this just stop?

He had left her hanging on a cliff for so long. It was like the day she tried to kill herself. She had been standing there, waiting for him, expecting him to save her again. He was taking his sweet little time, saving other girls, doing other things. Maybe he hadn't even known she needed saving. But then he was there and he was saving her again. But she slipped, like before, and suddenly she was falling. But unlike before, he didn't grab her. He didn't even try. He stared at her as she fell, a wolfish grin on his face, the same one he used the day they first met, the day she stood up to him. And she hit the ground and she died and it all ended there.

She began to cry again, silently, her arms hanging over the balcony. She had no interest in jumping. Ayumi was no loser and jumping would mean losing to them.

She yearned for his touch again. His lips. His hands on her back. She yearned for his hungry eyes, the way they drank her in. She yearned for his tongue and his neck and everything that was him. She yearned for _him_. It was stronger than desire. It was love, in every form of the word.

She let out a small sound, somewhere between a sob and a laugh.

She jerked at the sound of the door opening behind her, nearly sending her over the edge.

"Ayumi!"

That was all he said. Her name. Just her name.

But his eyes said so much more. They were anguished, the light in the them small. They read apology after apology after apology, guilt covering them. Guilt was the only thing that most people would see. Most people didn't look very hard. Most people found one thing and thought themselves great. Ayumi wasn't most people.

She could also see despair and anger. Anger at Rumiko, anger at her, anger at himself, anger at the world. It was a teenage kind of anger, an anger rational adults seemed to forget. He was sad too. Sad like his pet had just died. But at the same time, they showed a sort of glow that hers did too. They shared the glow of love, the glow of being with your love, the glow of being _in_ love.

"Yoshiki," Ayumi said calmly after analyzing him. She raised a brow, trying to appear confident.

"Listen, Ayumi, I'm so so _so_ sorry. Sorry is not even the word for it. I was wrong. I've never been more wrong. That was... that was before..."

"Before you kissed me?" she questioned.

"No! Well, yes, but... but no! It has nothing to do with the kiss!" he shouted, his eyes wild.

"Are you saying that the kiss meant nothing to you?"

He was not seeming to notice her sarcasm. "No! Ayumi that kiss... that kiss meant everything to me." He cast his eyes downward and she gasped. "Ayumi, I came up with that plan when I first met you. On the stairs. When I thought you were societal trash. When I thought you would become another fake, plastic, shiny individual from some private school that your parents sent you to so you could go to a good university. But when you tried to kill yourself and I helped you, I..." He looked up at her eyes again, straight into her soul. "I love you."

It was everything she had ever wanted to hear. It was the sound of waves crashing against the shore. It was the sound of people winning the Olympics. It was the sound of the cry of a newborn baby and the the happy cry of the mother. It was the basis for all that is good.

And despite all these emotions inside her, she took the time to say, "You know, I came to this school on scholarship. My parents don't care what university I go to. I do."

" _That's_ what you got out of my speech?!" he shouted, flabbergasted.

Ayumi bit back a smile. "Well, I just thought you should know."

"Uuuuggghhh." He hung his head low.

She giggled. "I love you too."

His eyes widened as he snapped his head up. "What?"

"I love you."

He swept her into a kiss so beautiful, it could have made movie posters jealous. It was so much better than their last one, if that was possible. It was fast and then slow, because time was on their side. All was right in the world for that moment. That's all that can be said, really. It was more than perfect, simply put.

After they broke apart for air, they rested there foreheads against each others, eyes shut, hands laced together. A single tear ran down Ayumi's cheek.

"Lovely," she whispered.

And he did not question what she meant; he didn't pull away and look at her, confused. He didn't have to. He already knew. He had always known.

Instead, he just whispered back with:

"Lovely."

* * *

 **A/N: And there you have it! Ahh, it feels good to be done.**

 **Perhaps you are wondering why I don't write multiple stories at once. The answer to that is: as the Queen of Procrastination, it is very difficult for me to finish _one_ story, let alone multiple. Hell, it nearly took me a year to write this piece! **

**You may also be wondering why I don't write two author's notes, one at the bottom and one at the top. That is because I can say everything I need to in the beginning. The end of a story, however, results in many questions that would be tenacious to put in the beginning.**

 **Now, onto some questions that I have made up that I think you may have. If you have another question that I did not answer here, please PM me or leave it in the reviews and I can PM you an answer.**

 **Q: Will there be a sequel to Confusion?**

 **A: I highly, highly doubt it. If by slight chance there is, it will most likely be a one shot of Rumiko's views throughout this series of events.**

 **Q: What am I working on next?**

 **A: I am beginning to write an AU story for Miraculous Ladybug. Stick around if you wish to see it.**

 **Q: Will I continue to write for Corpse Party?**

 **A: Once again, I doubt it very much so. I do have an old handwritten Hunger Games crossover piece, but I would hate to type that all up. I feel that there was a time in my life where Corpse Party played a huge role in my growing into being a dork. Corpse Party was at a high when I fell into the fandom, and I have met some very great people through it. I am happy to have been able to see it prosper for a brief, but blissful period of time. Corpse Party encouraged my writing, and I have to thank it for that. I had always been rather silent with my nerdiness. I am rather popular at school, so it was kind of my secret side. I watched from afar. I read loads of fanfics, followed people on Instagram, and got obsessed with Tumblr. Then, war seemed to break out. People fought online (mostly about ships, oddly enough). And then, it all died down. People moved on to greater things, new places. People grew up. It was strange to see it deteriorate. Maybe you think I'm wrong when I say this, but the fandom is like a ghost town. Maybe there are a couple of people at the saloon or the inn (metaphorically speaking), but that's it. My favorite accounts found new things to love, my favorite writers found new things to write. I'll leave this story on my account because maybe one day you'll want to go back and reread it, or at least I will. I truly think it is the end of an era in my life. I hope you can understand.**

 **Thank you all for your ongoing support throughout this story. This was my first fanfic and I loved getting messages from you all. I loved getting reviews and follows and favorites and being put on communities. I loved writing. I still do, just not for this. I've moved on too. You have all been so kind to me. I could have never asked for a better welcoming into writing.**

 _ **Merci pour votre temps.**_


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